


Alexander Not

by MajorIndecision



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Concussions, Dimension Travel, Head Injury, Injury Recovery, Memory Loss, Out of Character, Platonic Relationships, Soft Caustic | Alexander Nox
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 02:27:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30014718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajorIndecision/pseuds/MajorIndecision
Summary: “Ah—Caustic! Amigo! How ya doin’ pal?” The man was coming over, despite Lifeline’s protests otherwise. Alexander shifts instinctively to put some distance between them.“I’m—afraid I fail to remember you as well,” he offered quietly. Silva paused in front of the bed, a sudden inhale indicating his surprise.Lifeline's expression twisted with displeasure. “He’s got a concussion, ain’t remember anyting. So you go on now!"--or--It seems like one of Horizon's experiments has backfired and cost Caustic his memory. Or did the machine work exactly as intended?
Relationships: Lifeline | Ajay Che & Octane | Octavio Silva
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	Alexander Not

**Author's Note:**

> I'm obsessed with Caustic in-game, so it's a shame his personality is problematic. Let's fix that, shall we?  
> If you'd like to see more of this, please like and comment! I'll be motivated to continue it faster <3 Thanks for reading!

_ The world was screaming around him. His ears were ringing; a deep throbbing persisted in his skull, and a hot liquid ran down his face. Sharp pain like shards of glass cutting into his skin stabbed into his limbs, slicing to the bone. His eyesight was obscured by perspiration and dimmed by the inability to breathe. _

_ “—austic! Caustic!” _

_ Some kind of yell was piercing the void, but he couldn’t tell from whom it came. A dizzying sensation overtook him, and his masked face met the ground. He was wheezing uselessly, struggling to intake oxygen; the world, once screaming, was now going black. _

_ A muffled thumping, like footsteps on metal, came closer. It was quieter than the roaring of some machine behind him; some swirling mass of matter that he must have been sucked into. A singularity, perhaps? So the force of gravity would be his downfall? _

He felt warmth. Light made the inside of his eyelids red; he shut them tighter to return them to darkness, a groan escaping his throat. It must have alerted a nearby presence, as footsteps approached. They were too loud.

“Caustic?”

Alexander felt sensitive. The sounds and light were too much, and he raised his hands to shield himself from both. Pain blossomed across his limbs and he moaned in pain, voice cracking, tone weak and foreign. His throat felt so dry that it could bleed. A tube pulled at his arm, where a needle was resting under his skin; his fingers reached for it.

Abruptly, warm hands slipped beneath his head. “Here, now. Raise up a bit.”

He was inclined slightly, and the rim of a glass gently met his lips. He circled his hands around the glass, forgetting the needle, and forced himself to take small sips, knowing that consuming too much with desperation would cause him only to choke and suffer.

He eased his eyes open and found himself in a medical bay of some sort. Before him stood a woman he couldn’t ever recall seeing before, with a bun on either side of her head. She wore gloves on her warm hands that kept prodding him softly, looking for wounds.

“Ya seem ta be doin’ a lot better now. How ya feel?”

“Like I was struck by a locomotive,” Alexander groaned in response. His voice still protested, throat still impossibly parched, so he drank more.

The woman noticed and promptly refilled his glass. On a table nearby, she procured a pen and jotted down some notes onto a small pad. Once finished, she idly tapped the pen against the paper.

“Ya probably wonderin’ what got ya put in ‘ere. Ya got caught in one o’ Horizon’s gadgets.”

Alexander set the water aside when he was finally satisfied, looking over to the woman. “My apologies—Horizon? I’m unfamiliar.”

Her head turned quickly, and she stared at him with a mix of shock and concern. She came back over, pulled a flashlight from her belt, and shined the light in his eyes.

He knew enough about medicine to follow what she was doing. “It isn’t impossible that I have some form of a concussion. I appear to be suffering from headache, disorientation, blurry vision, and nausea.”

“Ya ears ringin’?”

He paused. “Not currently, but a sensitivity to sound persists. Light as well.”

She stands back, putting her hands on her hips and observing him. “What’s the last ting ya remember?”

Alexander thinks for a moment, idly drumming his fingers against his palm. “I was in my laboratory experimenting with chemicals. There was some kind of explosion.”

“Anyting else?”

“No.” He met her gaze. “If you’re wondering, ma’am, I’m not familiar with you, either.”

Lifeline exhaled sharply, rubbing her forehead. She cleared her throat to speak clearly: “Well, ya name is Caustic an’ I’m Lifeline. We’re Legends together in the Apex Games.”

“Apex Games?” He paused. “That sounds familiar,” he rumbled with a slight cock of his head.

“Well, that’s a good sign, then.” She returned to her notepad. Alexander sat up.

“Miss Lifeline—did you call me  _ Caustic?” _

Before she could answer, the doors swung open so hard they slammed against the wall. Alexander grunted, hands bolting up to his head to hold his ears; his eyes slid shut again. The sounds of conversation that followed were muted.

When the pounding in his head had somewhat subsided, he removed his hands: “—can’t just barge in here, Silva! He’s injured!”

Alexander looked to the door and saw a thin man with metal legs jumping impatiently there. “But I’m so  _ bored,  _ Che! Everybody’s been askin’ about him!”

Lifeline shifted her weight onto one of her legs and hooked her hand against her hip. “Nah they ain’t, Silva. Ya makin’ it seem like ya helpful so I ain’t as mad.”

“Ah—Caustic! Amigo! How ya doin’ pal?” The man was coming over, despite Lifeline’s protests otherwise. Alexander shifts instinctively to put some distance between them.

“I’m—afraid I fail to remember you as well,” he offered quietly. Silva paused in front of the bed, a sudden inhale indicating his surprise.

“He’s got a concussion, ain’t remember anyting. So you go on now,” Lifeline was saying. Silva jumped up and down.

“Wait, wait! If he doesn’t remember anything, does that mean he’ll act different? Will he be cool now?”

“Silva! Out!”

Silva finally took Lifeline seriously and bolted out of the clinic, not bothering to shut the door back behind him. Lifeline came over and did it herself, sighing. “Sorry ‘bout that. Ya head feelin’ worse?”

Alexander smoothed a hand over his forehead, wincing at the heat and pain. Lifeline nodded with understanding, coming over; she started administering medicine to his IV. “Painkillers for ya.”

“How long will I be bedridden?” Alexander paused. “How long until my memories return?”

Lifeline frowned. “Well. Ya be outta bed whenever ya feel better, but ya ain’t playin’ in the Games for a while. Ya memories is another problem.”

“You don’t know,” Alexander filled in. Solemnly, Lifeline nodded.

“I ain’t sure what Horizon’s machine did ta ya. Ya got a mild concussion, but it ain’t nothin’ that shoulda caused this much memory loss. Wish I had more answers for ya.”

Alexander sighed. “Thank you for trying, Miss Lifeline.”

Lifeline gazed at him strangely, finally nodding her head and patting his arm. “Ya get some sleep now, ya hear?”

Alexander hummed his acknowledgement, turning his head and closing his eyes.

_ Horizon flipped through her blueprints and files, brows furrowing. She glanced back at Octane, who bounced and stimmed in the doorway. “You’re sure he had memory loss?” _

_ “Yep! Che said he didn’t remember anyone.” _

_ “That doesn’t make any sense.” Horizon pulled a marker from behind her ear and snapped the cap off with her teeth, scribbling down notes as she went. None of the papers she studied had any answers. _

_ “There’s nothing here that woulda caused that. Most he should be experiencin’ is confusion and nausea.” _

_ “I dunno. He kinda looked like he had that, too.” _

_ Horizon glanced back at Octane, waving dismissively. “Ah, thank you, dear. You can run along now.” _

_ Octane didn’t have to be told twice; as he departed, Horizon swept back through her notes and settled on the theoretical probability of interdimensional travel. Her lips pursed. _

_ “Octane?” _

_ He stuck his head back in the doorway in a matter of seconds. “Yeah?!” _

_ Horizon looked back to him. “Could you get Wraith for me, pretty please?” _


End file.
